OK. The jury has more or less decided that "The Revenger's Tragedy" is not by Cyril Tourneur after all, but by Thomas Middleton. This is on strictly scholarly grounds. Either way, it scarcely matters, as this play is strictly sui generis. It's like nothing else either Tourneur or Middleton ever wrote.

The best way to think of it is as standing in a relation to the classic Jacobean and Elizabethan tragedies of Kyd, Shakespeare, Webster and Middleton sort of like the way Quentin Tarantino's early films stand in relation to previous Hollywood classics. Whoever wrote this, they were Taking The P*ss. The play starts in next-to-top gear, and accelerates into warp speed fairly quickly. Few other plays of the era (this is roughly contemporaneous with "King Lear", to give you an idea) are so ruthlessly efficient. The basic plot is put in motion by two brothers, Vindice and Hippolito, who are a bit cheesed off because the egregious Duke (of wherever) killed Vindice's wife cause she wouldn't put out. From here proceeds a bizarre and increasingly unlikely series of revenges, climaxing in a frankly chortlesome mass slaying. Vindice is the juiciest role - a bit like Shakespeare's Richard III, he guides the audience through the action, but with far greater economy and far less wrangling of conscience, not that Crookback Dick is noted for his remorse.

By the end, the stage is littered with bodies, and Vindice and Hippolito cheerfully go off to execution, with barely a qualm in sight. This is truly the most cynical and the funniest of all Jacobean tragedies. Whoever wrote it, be it Cyril or Tom, was thinking along the same lines Howard Hawks was on when he (Hawks) turned "Rio Bravo" from a Western into a chamber comedy. It's all thoroughly reprehensible, and great fun. You want depth, try John Webster.

There aren't many four-hundred-year-old plays that I laugh aloud at whilst reading, but this is one of them. Pace the opinion below, it couldn't have less to do with Jonson's careful layering of reality if it tried. It's a brisk, bleak, savage cartoon. Full marks, whoever you were.

PreShakespeare, but a lot of fun to read! I enjoyed it very much--- has to do with a man who is carrying around a murdered girlfriend for almost ten years-- he is planning revenge on the king...

This dark tragi-comedy resonates with the dramatic potential of Hamlet, but and edge particular to Jacobean Drama. A play which is still relevant today (many students related it to "The Godfather"), and brimming with cinematic violence, lust, deception, vengence, and, with all this, communicated through beautiful poetry.

This work of Thomas Middleton wonder about the nature vs nurture issue. Are we preprogrammed to be who we are or does our upbringing shape who we are? In this play, we are given several examples of love and marriage and how these things can be corrupted. What Middleton asks is: Are marriage and love corrupted by people themselves or is it a corrupted institution from the start? He also pays close attention to the value of money and commodities. Marriage was a money-making venture during the Renaissance and in some places, it still is. You have to keep asking yourself while reading this play if, in Middleton's society, true love is possible and, if so, how can it or will it eventually overcome a society based on material possessions and monetary value?

This is the very best collection of Middleton's crostic puzzles that I have ever encountered. (And I have done a lot of his puzzles over the years.)

If you have to go to work tomorrow, don't open this book after 10 p.m. You may be awake 'til the a.m. hours! These crostics are challenging and fun for the word puzzle lover who likes to go a step beyond crosswords to solve a quote and author puzzle. There are even a few cryptic acrostics - a triple treat!

'The Changeling' is a play with an extremely complex structure- the plot seems to start off with the potential to develop it's dark themes but becomes preoccupied with the use of coup de theatre; such as the potion and the grisly deaths. Beatrice is shown in the first scene to understand innuendo and is able to respond in kind to Alsemero, but is later naive to De Flores' demands. THIS PLAY IS UNBELIEVABLE AND STUPID!

Firstly, thanks to Joost Daadler for his stunning introduction to the edition I read of 'The Changeling'. The in-depth analysis of the psychological disturbances and functions that exist within the play (such as the ID and the unconscious dropping of the glove, etc.), help expand 'The Changeling' into a lot more than just (though this would be no bad thing!) a morality play where an orthodox Christian message runs predominant. I have never read a play that reduces the human to the bestial in such an intense and forceful manner, not shying away from the painful and somewhat humiliating view that human kind are more or less governed by their instincts; sexual impulse being one such motivating factor that can rid a human of any intellect ot reason that is supposed to constitute 'humanity' in the first place. This ia must read and not just a moral, didactic play either. It is not condemning sexuality but pleading with us that it must be understood. Overall, it is a tragedy that really challenges its reader into thinking hard about whether certain characters (e.g. Beatrice) can be more sympathised with than maybe one thought upon first reading. Read it!

Anyone who thinks centuries-old tragedies aren't relevant to modern times should read "The Changeling." With a few very minor adjustments, the plot and characters in this play could come right out of a modern crime novel, or even a modern true-crime story.

This is one of those plays where you read because you're more interested about what happens to the bad guy (and the bad gal) than what happens to the good guys. (Alsemero who! ) I envy the performers who get to play DeFlores and Beatrice-Joanna.

A lot of scholarly treatises about the play criticized the humorous subplot, claiming that it had no relevance and no connection to the main plot. My response is, "Hell-o! Is anybody home?" OK, that wasn't a scholarly response, but any scholar who can't see the thematic connection (characters who mask their true natures versus characters in disguise) doesn't deserve a scholarly response.

Anne M. Marble All About Romance

I read this book and was simply amazed at all the facts it contains. It is an ideal book for all African-American school children to read. The illustrations are great, and I found a world of valuable information. Kudos to Ms. Stokes and Mr. Middleton for a job well done.

this book is a very discriminating book because it discriminates love and the courtly love tradition, i thought it was fascinating and a jolly good book to study for A level english lit.

This edition contains what can be argued to be Middleton's most famous plays: A Trick to Catch the Old One, The Revenger's Tragedy, A Chaste Maid in Cheapside, Women Beware Women, and The Changeling. I always appreciate it when a collection contains "greatest hits" without being interspersed with more obscure works. Penguin Classics also includes a nice introduction.

As for the actual plays, they are classic Renaissance drama. There is plotting, marriage, and revenge. Fans or students of Jonson, Massinger, Marston, and Shakespeare are likely to be interested in these as well.

I have been made to read this book for my A level lit class and I would like to express the complete and utter boredom whilst reading this so called brilliant play. I would like to wish all the poor A level students who, like me, are made to read this.

One thing i know is that I better get a good grade for going through this absolute and utter boredom.

If you did enjoy the book then maybe you could explain to me what you found so enjoyable!

I was made to read this as part of my a level Literature class. I am sending this warning to all who intend to read it! My Advice is : DON'T! No offence to the author or anyone who actually liked the book but it was a complete waste of time! ...

Good luck to those who, like me, are forced to read it!